Carolina African Runner Peanut, 28 g

$5.25

Max: 2

130 days. [Brought to the US in the 1600s by West African slaves, this is the original American peanut!] Thought to be extinct since the 1930s, until Dr. David Shields tracked down a small sample in NC State University’s seed archives. From a 2013 planting of 20 seeds, Brian Ward of Clemson’s Coastal Research and Education Center has been building up the population. The peanuts are smaller, denser, and oilier than other peanuts, and sweeter than Virginia peanuts. Historically, they were used for making peanut oil, used in savory dishes, desserts, and beverages, and later for peanut butter. 1-2 seeds/pod (mostly 2 seeds/pod). A runner peanut, vines can spread 3+ ft (great for keeping down weeds), but needs 2-3 weeks longer to mature than other peanuts - if trying to grow these north of SE Virginia, start seedlings inside, then transplant out a month after last spring frost. Hardy and vigorous, and excellent for small crops, but this variety is vulnerable to a few modern peanut diseases when grown on a large commercial scale. Pkt (~57 seeds) $5.25